Muslims must first question themselves

Currently there is tremendous turmoil across the world. One just needs to look at the number of martyrs and injured in the media to comprehend the severity of the situation. Hundreds of people are being forced from their lands every day, and hundreds more are murdered. Little children are raped, pregnant women have their babies ripped out from inside them and Muslims are burned and tortured. While this troubling state of affairs applies in almost all regions of the world, the pressure on Muslims in particular is striking.

The world in general is silent in the face of the sufferings in Islamic lands.

Of course there are some Muslim countries that oppose this oppression and open their doors to refugees even though they are in a tight spot themselves. Some people, however, literally ignore this ongoing oppression to such an extent that virtually no reports appear in newspapers or on TV. Yet the most mundane subjects, such as horse races, attract huge interest in these countries and are widely reported.

On the other hand, while some countries keep their silence, “foreign powers” are blamed for all the turmoil: Yet it is not right or a solution to blame “foreign powers” for everything. Muslims first need to ask themselves where they went wrong.

Muslims need to reflect on why there is such little reaction when slaughter the like of which has never been seen in the history of Islam is taking place, as in Syria.

Being “Brothers” and “One Ummah”

This nation of yours is one nation and I am your Lord, so worship Me. (Surat al-Anbiya, 92)

The believers are brothers, so make peace between your brothers and have fear of Allah so that hopefully you will gain mercy. (Surat al-Hujurat, 10)

These two verses show the kind of relations that Muslims should have with one another.

For a Muslim, the essential criterion is to attain the approval of Allah and His mercy and Paradise, and we adhere to the Qur’an and the path shown by our Prophet (saas) to that end.

When we look at the verses and hadiths we see that they speak of a single “Ummah”, brothers, rather than various different Muslim groups. In the Qur’an Allah tells us that impairment of this awareness of brotherhood and the emergence of divisions will lead to corruption; that is the current state of affairs in much of the world. Muslims must therefore strive to be one Ummah again and work towards brotherhood.

Some verses on the subject of Muslims needing to be united are as follows:

Those who are unbelievers are the friends and protectors of one another. If you do not act in this way there will be turmoil in the land and great corruption. (Surat al-Anfal, 73)

Obey Allah and His Messenger and do not quarrel among yourselves lest you lose heart and your momentum disappear… (Surat al-Anfal, 46)

Some hadiths on which our Prophet (saas) advises us not to hate, let alone wage war on one another, and to do away with enmity at once are as follows:

Do not have ill will for one another. Do not envy one another. Do not turn your backs on one another. Do not mock one another. Be servants of Allah and brothers ... (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)

Believers are like a single body in loving, sympathizing with and feeling affection for one another. If one organ is sick, the other organs will join it with sleeplessness and fever. (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)

The command in the verses and hadiths is explicit: Muslims must avoid division at any cost and must support the truth and justice and that requires the protection of the innocent, solidarity and spiritual unity against evil and a mass intellectual struggle. They must abide by the moral value of being “those who, when they are wronged, defend themselves…” as described in Surat ash-Shura, verse 39.

Those who do not desire the Islamic Union for the sake of their own interests are making a grave error

There could be people who do not want Islamic Unity, who take no interest in wickedness and seek only their own comfort in the face of all this evil and suffering in the world. Other Muslims have a responsibility to correct that false way of thinking and speak of the urgent need for the Islamic Union. The reason for this is because:

- Those people may be comfortable in their own regions, but people are starving and being martyred in Syria.

- Those people may fear that harm will befall their own interests and say, “There is no need for an Islamic Union,” but the homes of Muslims in Rakhine are being burned down, and practically nothing is known at all about the fate of Muslims in East Turkestan.

- Those people may not see the urgent need for an Islamic Union, but innocent people are praying night and day, saying, “O Lord, send us a savior!”

It is therefore of the greatest importance to tell people of the error of statements that impair Muslims’ fervor and zeal and that ill-become Islamic Unity, and to strive to rebuild unity among Muslims by reminding them of the urgent need for a union.

This, of course, can be brought about through people being taught the moral values of the Qur’an and through activity based on scientific evidence that is instrumental in a sound faith; in other words, through education. When people are educated in a detailed manner, their awareness will grow, they will be freed from selfishness and they will begin to understand the verses and live by the moral values of the Qur’an.

People therefore need to be told, through intellectual activity of all kinds, through television, books and magazines, why Islamic Union is essential, and the awareness of being a united Ummah needs to be regenerated. Through the affection at the heart of the Islamic Union, that awareness will bring peace and tranquility, not just to Muslims but also to the entire world.